Elevated-railway superstructure



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. S. SHAW.

ELEVATED EAILWAY SUPERSTRUGTURE.

No. 453,268. Patented June 2, 1891.

I FIG. 2.

C I a IJVVEJWTOK, C

(No Model.)

3 Sheets Sheet 2.

E. s. SHAW. I ELEVATED RAILWAY SUPERSTRUGTURE. No. 453,268.

Patented June 2,1891.

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OO QOGIO UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWVARD S. SHAIV, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELEVATED-RA! SU PERSTRUCTU RE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 453,268, dated June 2,1891. Application filed February 15, 1888. I Serial No. 264,052. (Nomodel.)

T0 or whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD S. SHAW, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement inElevated-Railway Superstructures, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to the longitudinal superstructure of elevatedrailways; and it consists, principally, in the devices, combinations,methods, and details of construction by which I support the guard-railswhich are commonly used to prevent derailment in structures of thisclass, my improvements being hereinafter fully described and claimed.

I attain the above objects by means of certain novel combinations,methods, and details of construction described and claimed in thisspecification, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a transverse section, and Fig. 2 a partial side elevation,of a superstructure embodying my invention, in which only insideguard-rails are used. Fig. 1 shows also a car-truck providedwith-truck-guards constructed. according to my Patent No. 353,086.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal elevation, and Fig. 4.-

a plan, of a plate-girder superstructure c011- structed in accordancewith this specification. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of an open-web orIVarren girder superstructure. Fig. 6 is a transverse section, and Fig.7 a partial side elevation, of anopen-web superstructure in whichguard-rails both inside and outside of the track-rails are shown. Theupper dotted lines in Fig. 6 represent an ordinary cartruck. Fig. 8 is atransverse section of a superstructure forshort spans in whichthelongitudinal girders are rolled I-beams. In this figure the upperdotted lines represent a cartruck having horizontal guide or propellingwheels. Fig. 9 is a transverse section, and Fig. 10 a partial sideelevation, of a wooden superstructure designed for light rollingstockpropelled by electricity. Figs. 11, 12, 13, and 14: are partiallongitudinal and transverse elevations of girders, 850., showingvariations in the methods of construction which may be used in carryingout this invention.

In all of the above figures the same letters are used to denote similarparts.

Referring to the drawings, A A are the chords, and IV V the web members,of the 1ongitudinal girders A V V A, which support upon their upperchords the track-rails T. These track-rails maybe attached to thegirders by bolts m a, passing through the upper chords or flanges of thegirders and provided with suitable clamping-washers, or they may besecured by horizontal bolts and clamps, as in Fig. 8, or in any othersuitable manner. Between the rails and the girders elastic blocks orbearings E are preferably interposed at proper intervals. These bearingsmay be of wood and may extend across the structure from one girder tothe other, forming cross-ties for the track, or they may be composed ofindia-rubber, felt, cork, sheetlead, or of a combination of some of theabove-named or other elastic and non-resonant substances. lVhen thegirders or their upper chords are of wood, these'blocks may be omitted,as in Fig. 9.

Parallel with, above, and between the trackrails longitudinalguard-rails G are placed, being securely attached to the tops of uprightor inclined posts or standards U. In some cases these inner guard-railsmay be supplemented by outer guard-rails 0, supported upon upright orinclined posts or standards U.

The longitudinal guard-rails are preferably formed of a rolled shape ofiron or steel having a horizontal member or flange a to resist lateralpressure from the wheels or trucle guards and a vertical member orflange a to resist vertical pressure caused by any portion of the truckfalling upon it or by the upward pull of the truck-guards when acting toprevent the derailment or overturning of the cars. In the innerguard-rail the horizontal flange may project outwardly beyond thevertical flange a sufficient distance to enable the truck-guard g toengage with the horithe heads of rivets or bolts passing through thevertical flange and securing it to the post or standard U.

Both inner and outer guard-rails should preferably be provided with anenlargement or thickening f of the horizontal flange a zontal flangewithout coming in contact with upon the side next to the wheels in orderto diminish the abrasion arising from the :t'riction caused by contactwith the wheels or truck-guards when acting to prevent derailment. Ifwooden guard-rails are used, as shown in -Fig. 9, their horizontalsurfaces next to the wheels may be protected by a longitudinal strip ofiron or steel f, securely attached, as shown.

The posts or standards U, to which the guard-rails G and O are attached,are preferably placed in a vertical or nearly vertical position; butwhen the longitudinal girders do not have vertical web members the postsmay be inclined in the line of the inclined web-struts produced in anupward direction. These uprights occur at intervals which may coincidewith the panel lengths of the girders or trusses, the posts beingpreferably situated over the panel-points.

The posts U, which support the guard-rails, are attached at their lowerextremities to the upper chord or web members of the girders, and theinner guard-rails may be braced and secured against horizontaldisplacement by means of inclined braces Y, extending from the top ofthe postU at an angle down to the lateral brace L, connecting the topchords of the girders, and auxiliary attachments h 7t may be employed incertain cases.

\Vhen the outer guard-rail O is used, the posts U supporting it may beattached to the upper ends of the web-struts or to vertical plates ofthe upper chord or to the web of the girders, and the lower extremitiesof these posts may be bent inwardly to facilitate this attachment, as inFigs. 12 and 14. The guard-rails are attached to the posts and the poststo the girders by rivets, bolts, or other secure fastenings.

It will be apparent that by the devices and methods of constructionherein described and illustrated I obtain a structure in which theguard-rails are separate and distinct from the upper chords of thegirders or from any floor of ties supporting the rails and do not form apart of either, and that if the guard-rails are bent, worn, or otherwiseinjured or impaired they may be easily removed and newonessubstitutedwithoutaffectingthe strength of the girders. I alsoproduce a structure in which the wheels travel in a guarded channel orway having lateral openings through which any obstruction of moderatesize will readily fall out or be thrown out by the wheels instead ofbecoming wedged in and remainin g to derail the wheels, as might readilyhappen with guard-rails of the usual construction.

I am aware that guard-rails supported upon upright posts or standardsare not new, having been set forth in combinations differing from thoseof this specification in my Patents Nos. 353,086 and 361,029, and henceI do not claim, broadly, herein the combination of a longitudinalguard-rail with a supporting post or standard.

What I now claim is- 1. A longitudinal superstructure or permanent wayfor an elevated railway, consisting of a pair of girders or trussesplaced beneath two track-rails and supporting the track-rails upon andentirely above the uppermost surfaces of the girders and also supportinga pair of longitudinal guard-rails placed between and above the innerand upper surfaces of the track-rails by means of several and individualupright or inclined posts or standards attached to the longitudinalgirders, the said guard-rails and posts or standards being separate anddistinct members and not forming a part of the girders, substantially asand for the purposes herein set forth.

2. A longitudinal superstructure or permanent way for anelevatedgailway, consisting of a pair of girders or trusses placedbeneath two track-rails and supporting the trackfrails upon and entirelyabove the uppermost surfaces of the girders and also supporting fourlongitudinal guard-rails placed above and upon both sides of thetrack-rails by means of several and individual upright posts orstandards attached at intervals to the girders or to the lateralconnections or bracing thereof, the said guard-rails and posts orstandards being separate and distinct members and not forming a part ofthe girders, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

3. In an elevated-railway superstructure, the combination of a pair oflongitudinal girders or trusses, a pair of track-rails supported upon orover the upper surfaces of the girders and a pair of longitudinalguardrails placed between and above the inner and upper surfaces of thetrack-rails, and supported upon the lateral bracing of the longitudinalgirders by means of upright or inclined posts or standards attached tothe said guard-rails and to the lateral bracing of the girders.

4. In an elevated-railway superstructure, the combination of a pair oflongitudinal girders or trusses, a pair of track-rails supported uponand entirely above the uppermost surfaces of the girders, andlongitudinal guard-rails placed above and upon both sides of thetrack-rails and supported upon several and individual upright orinclined posts or standards attached at intervals to the girders or tothe lateral connections thereof, the said guard-rails and posts beingseparate and distinct members and not forming a part of the girders,substantially as set forth.

5. In an elevated-railway superstructure, the combination, with thelongitudinal girders or trusses, track-rails supported upon and entirelyabove the uppermost surfaces of the girders, and guard-rails placedentirely above and upon either side of the track-rails, of several andindividual upright or inclined posts or standards supporting theguard-rails and attached at intervals to the girders or to the lateralconnections thereof, the said posts IIO or standards being separate anddistinct members and not formlng a part of the girders,

substantially as herein shown and specified.

6. In an elevated-railway superstructure, the combination, with thelongitudinal girders or trusses, track-rails supported upon or over thetops of the girders, and guard-rails placed above and between thetrack-rails, of upright posts or standards U, supporting the guardrailsvertically, and inclined braces Y, sup porting the guard-railslaterally, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of the longitudinal girders or trusses AVWA,track-rails T, lateral bracing L L .l, inner guard-rails G, posts orstandards U, and braces Y, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination of the longitudinal girders or trusses A V WV A,track-rails T, lateral bracing L L Z, inner guard-rails G, and severaland individual posts or standards U, separate and distinct from thegirders and guard-rails, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination of the longitudinal girders or trusses A V WA,track-rails T, inner guard-rails G, posts or standards U, outerguard-rails O, and posts or standards U, substantially as set forth.

10. In an elevated-railway superstructure,

a standard or support for alongitudinal guardrail, consisting of anupper vertical or inclined portion U or U and a lower portion UK) I or UI), bent at an angle to the upper portion and attached to the upperchord or Web of the longitudinal girder or truss, substantially as shownand described.

11. The combination of a post or standard U or U and the auxiliaryattachment h or h, substantially as specified.

12. In an elevated-railway superstructure having rails placed over andentirely above the uppermost surfaces of the girders and provided withguard-rails raised above the track-rails and separate and distinct fromthe girders, several and individual upright or inclined posts orstandards U U, supporting the guard-rails G O and attached to the webmembers V of the girders, substantially as set forth.

13. In an elevated-railway superstructure, the combination ofguard-rails G or 0, posts or standards U- or U, and Web members ofWitnesses:

LELIA J. ROBINSON, GEO. A. DARY.

